Seattle University held the lead in the final minute, but Utah Valley hit two free throws with two seconds remaining in regulation to pull out a 52-51 victory Sunday afternoon in Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball action at KeyArena.
After a three-pointer by Hayes Garrity with 6:41 left in the second half put the Wolverines ahead by five at 46-41, Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) converted on a traditional three-point play and Jack Crook (Manchester, England) was able to pull down an offensive rebound and convert on a second chance shot to tie the game at 46-46 with 4:13 to go.
Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.) stole the ball on Utah Valley’s next possession and drove to the basket, where he was fouled. Murray converted one of the two free throw attempts to put the Redhawks on top, but that lead was short-lived as Mitch Bruneel made two free throws to give the Wolverines a 48-47 advantage.
Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) converted on a putback, but Garrity responded with a layup with 2:47 left in regulation. Neither team was able to score over the next two-and-a-half minutes before Sunderhaus once again earned an offensive rebound and tip-in to give the Redhawks the 51-50 lead with 18 seconds left.
Garrity missed a jumper, and the ball went out-of-bounds off Utah Valley, giving the Redhawks possession with three seconds left. However, Bruneel stole the inbounds pass, was fouled, and converted both free throw attempts to put the Wolverines on top with two seconds to go. Seattle U was unable to get off a shot before time ran out.
At the start of the game, back-to-back baskets by Sunderhaus and Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) put the Redhawks ahead, 7-3, before Utah Valley went on a 9-2 scoring run thanks to consecutive three-pointers from Bruneel as well as a long distance basket by Ben Aird. Seattle U responded with its own 7-0 run to retake a four-point lead, with Flora hitting a three-pointer and converting on a fast break dunk.
Holton Hunsaker scored five straight points to put the Wolverines back on top, 20-19, but Seattle U went on a 9-3 run, punctuated by a three-point play from Shore Adenekan (London, England), to take its biggest lead of the first half at 28-23 with 3:47 remaining before halftime. Utah Valley would score the final eight points of the half thanks to three-pointers by Hunsaker and Keawe Enos as well as a layup by Bruneel as the first half ended.
Seattle U opened the second half on a 13-5 scoring run, with Adenekan notching consecutive layups to increase the Redhawk lead to 41-36 with 11 minutes left in regulation. The Wolverines would score the next 10 points over a four-minute span, starting with a layup by Bruneel.
Sunderhaus led the Redhawks with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots, while Flora finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Murray contributed seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals, Adenekan also scored seven points, and Crook added six points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots. Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.), the leading scorer in the WAC coming into the game, was held to a season-low six points, but he did collect three rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Utah Valley (10-7, 4-0 WAC) was led by Bruneel with 20 points, plus he pulled down nine rebounds, while Aird notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Wolverines were able to pull out the victory despite shooting just 29.1 percent from the field (16-of-55), as Utah Valley made more three-point shots (nine) than two-point baskets (seven) during the afternoon.
As a team, Seattle U shot just 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field, including 5-of-23 from behind the three-point line, and 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from the free throw line. The Redhawks enjoyed a slight rebounding advantage (38-37), and both teams committed 12 turnovers that led to 12 points for the other side.
Seattle University (9-9, 1-4 WAC) will next head to Phoenix, Ariz., for a contest against Grand Canyon Saturday, Jan. 25, starting at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific time). The Redhawks return to KeyArena Thursday, Feb. 6, to face the Texas-Pan American Broncs starting at 7 p.m.